Shekea Coleman, a 12-year-old resident of the Hoboken Housing Authority, won first place at the 2013 All American Open Tae Kwon Do – Karate – Kung Fu Championships on March 16. Shekea beat roughly 40 competitors in her division of 10- to 14-year-olds to emerge victorious at the 48th annual competition, which was held at Paramount Gym at Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus.

Shekea is a product of the housing authority’s after-school karate classes led by Sensei Ray Rodriguez, who’s been training for more than 25 years. Rodriguez also competed at the tournament and won third in the master’s division.

The housing authority’s karate program was created as a way to keep kids off the streets and out of trouble.

“It’s pioneering programs like this that build discipline and confidence,” said Garcia.

Look for more in next weekend’s paper.

National Library Week

This week, the Hoboken Public Library joins libraries in schools, campuses, and communities nationwide in celebrating National Library Week, a time to highlight the value of libraries, librarians, and library workers.

The Hoboken Public Library is hosting the following events in celebration: Yoga for Kids on April 15 at 11 a.m., an art opening with Hob’Art and the Hoboken Shelter on April 15 at 6 p.m., an introduction to Microsoft Excel seminar on April 16 at 6 p.m., a business law seminar on April 17 at 6 p.m., a DIY gardening class on April 18 at 6 p.m., an after school spring fling concert on April 18 at 3:15 p.m., and more. For more information visit the Hoboken Public Library at 500 Park Ave., call (201) 420-2347 or see the library’s website at http://hobokenlibrary.org.

Free oral cancer screenings

In honor of Oral Cancer Awareness Month, Dr. Paul Calat of Hoboken Oral Surgery will be offering free oral cancer screenings on Thursday, April 18. Oral cancer is not a rare disease. Approximately 42,000 people will be diagnosed with oral cancer every year in the US. It kills one person every hour of every day, and over 100 new individuals will be diagnosed with it each day. The good news is that it can often be found early in its development, through a simple, painless, and quick screening.

For more information about oral cancer, please log onto www.oralcancer.org

Dr. Calat’s website is www.hobokenoralsurgery.com

Mason Civic League to present exhibition by students of the Hudson School

Mason Civic League’s Gallery 1200 is pleased to present an exhibition of drawings, paintings, sculpture and photographs by students of The Hudson School, Saturday, April 20 through Sunday, April 28.

Opening receptions for students, parents, and the public will be held on Saturday, April 20 from 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm and from 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. Gallery 1200 is located at 1200 Washington St.

Hoboken named top 10 ‘Foodie city’

Hoboken’s got more than 140 liquor licenses, dozens of restaurants, and lots of young professionals. Now a national website has taken notice.

Hoboken has been named a “top 10 foodie city” by livability.com, a site that ranks quality of life and travel amenities in America’s small and mid-sized cities. In fact, Hoboken is number 2 on the list, right before Bloomington, Ind.

Folks, there’s much more to see in this area than Manhattan! Especially in Hoboken (for those staying in NYC: We’re a quick $1.75 train ride across the river). We’ve even got celebrities opening restaurants, like Chris and Albie Manzo’s “Little Town New Jersey,” and of course, we've also got the Cake Boss.

According to a press release: “For this list, Livability.com editors sniffed out cities with a high ratio of acclaimed restaurants, innovative chefs and strong regional culinary styles to their population size. Following the lead of Livability.com’s first Top 10 Foodie Cities list, editors veered away from well-known food-lovers' cities like New York, Chicago, San Francisco and New Orleans, instead focusing on smaller towns with unexpected epicurean delights.

“The cities that made this year’s list have invigorating restaurant scenes, chefs adapting traditional dishes into edible art, and communities supporting local farmers and food producers.

“Authentic Italian cooking dominates the city of Hoboken’s dense culinary landscape, and it’s hard to go wrong when choosing from the Italian restaurants in Hoboken, but menus in Hoboken range from South American and Asian fusion to Middle Eastern and cheese steaks. And Hoboken has more Zagat-rated restaurants than anywhere else in the state. Chefs like four-time James Beard Foundation award nominee and owner of the restaurant Cucharamama easily find fresh, local produce and other epicurean delights at farmers markets in uptown and downtown Hoboken. Aspiring chefs can learn basics such as preparing for a dinner party, making chili, or the best beer and wine pairings at The Urban Kitchen’s cooking classes.”

Elysian Charter School students awarded in national C-span video contest

For the fourth time since 2008, Elysian Charter School students have won a top award in the C-SPAN 2013 StudentCam Competition. Sixth Grade students Nathan Blumenfeld and Ireland Tavarez won Honorary Mention for their short film “The Unemployment Rate,” from a record-setting field of 1,893 film submissions.

C-SPAN’s Pam McGorry presented the award to Blumenfeld and Tavarez on April 4, 2013. Mayor Zimmer was on hand to congratulate the winners. Elysian students and staff, including Aram Rubenstein Gillis, Elysian’s Artist in Residence and Faculty Advisor, were also in attendance.

C-SPAN’s annual video documentary competition, designed for students in grades 6-12, requires students to think about issues that affect our communities and nation. This year, the topic was “Message to the President." Filmmakers were asked to focus on an issue that they believed the President of the United States should address in 2013 and explain why they believe the issue is important. The winning video can be viewed on the C-Span website at www.studentcam.org/winners13.htm.

Fund for a Better Waterfront to present storm-related event series

The Fund for a Better Waterfront is organizing a series of events, “The Storm Next Time: Will Hoboken Be Ready.” The first event of the series titled, “Defining the Problem” will take place at the Proto Gallery at 66 Willow Ave. The event opens with a presentation on Thursday, April 18 at 7 p.m.

Following that event is a three-day exhibit running from Friday, April 19 through Sunday, April 21 during the hours of noon and 6 p.m. For more information, visit betterwaterfront.org.

One Love Festival: Celebrating Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas

On Saturday, April 20, The Hudson School is set to present the One Love Festival: Celebrating Africa, the Caribbean and the Americas. The event will feature music, dance, and artistry of professional and student performances of West African Drum, Stilts, Reggae, Hip Hop, Steel Pan, Capoeira, and more. It will also offer exotic face art, door prizes and sample Caribbean and Southern cuisines. The event is in the Rue Building, 301 Garden St. from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Pamela Ross and friends to present “Beauty and the 3-B-sters!”

Pamela Ross and friends will present “Beauty and the 3-B-sters,” an enjoyable family program of trios and duos by popular composers on Sunday, April 21 at 3 p.m. The event will take place at the Hudson School, 601 Park Avenue. Admission is free.

Pamela Ross is a Hoboken-based pianist/actress/writer whose award winning one woman shows have had long runs Off Broadway and in theatres and performance arts venues around the world. She has performed as soloist with major orchestras and is a recording artist with several widely distributed CDs and DVDs. Many of her programs can be seen on public television, the Arts & Entertainment Television Network, and heard regularly on classical radio stations. Miss Ross has been on the faculty of several universities, and is presently associated with Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey, in the Department of Music Technology. She is a member of Actors’ Equity Association, Association of Film, Television, and Recording Artists, and Screen Actors' Guild. Visit her at www.pamelaross.com.

The event will also feature performers Joseph Gotoff, a New York based cellist and violinist Katherine Liccardo.

For more information and reservations contact Evelyn Bonilla at (973) 943-7396.

Hudson County Chamber of Commerce holding healthcare roundtable

The Hudson County Chamber of Commerce announced this week that it will host a roundtable discussion for business owners and leaders interested in learning more about new initiatives designed to rein in the rising cost of healthcare premiums for employers. The event will be held on Wed. April 17 at 8:30 a.m. at the Jersey City Museum, located at 350 Montgomery St.

The goal of the roundtable is to provide businesses an opportunity to learn more about what is driving rising healthcare costs for employers and how local healthcare facilities are working to bring down those costs. The session will be moderated by Nicholas A. Chiaravalloti, Executive Director, Guarini Institute for Government and Leadership.

“The rising cost of healthcare is of urgent concern for our members,” said Maria Nieves, the Chamber’s President and CEO. “We hope to launch a series of conversations with this event that focuses on how our members and employers generally can begin to control these costs while also continuing to provide quality benefits to their employees.”

“This is an opportunity to shed light on the emerging issues in healthcare not only in Hudson County but nationally as we prepare to implement health care reform,” said Scott. “Understanding the impact of existing models as well as new and innovative delivery models is essential to the viability of the business community in Hudson County. “

To register for this event, which is complimentary for members of the Chamber, visit www.hudsonchamber.org or contact achinni@hudsonchamber.org.